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TrekToday - Linlithgow Presses Claim As Scotty's Birthplace

Linlithgow Presses Claim As Scotty's Birthplace

USS Enterprise engineer Montgomery Scott may have described himself as an "Aberdeen pub crawler" on the show, but the widow of the actor who played the character claims that James Doohan believed Scotty would be born in Linlithgow, as does a local politician.

Although the city of Edinburgh has declared itself Scotty's official future birthplace and the city of Aberdeen has announced plans to build a space park in his honour (story), Linlithgow is not giving up its claim. In an editorial in the Evening News West Lothian councillor Willie Dunn stated, "I believe we have the best claim to support Linlithgow as the birthplace of Scotty and the place most worthy of a suitable memorial honouring his future birth."

Dunn cites the novel Vulcan's Glory, in which original series scriptwriter D.C. Fontana said that the Enterprise's corridors were as familiar to Scotty "as his mother's house in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland." He dismissed the Aberdeen claim, saying that while Scotty may have visited its pubs as an adult, there is no indication that he was born there.

Wende Doohan has apparently stated that her husband believed Scotty would come from Linlithgow. But Star Trek historian Richard Arnold insists that nothing was ever established in the original series, the films or the Next Generation episode "Relics." He has told the Trek Nation that he was misquoted by the Times amd says he only confirmed that the Aberdeen reference was the lone mention of a specific city from Scotty's past.

Dunn noted that Linlithgow was the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots and that Star Trek fans would welcome the opportunity to visit the town.

In related news, the Edinburgh Castle Pub in San Francisco is hosting a memorial to Scotty this evening, featuring film clips, costumes, Romulan ale and live music by The Savage Curtain.